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Caly Ferguson

1x

Finalist

1x

Winner

General information

Hobbies & Interests

  • Drawing And Illustration
  • Music
  • Business And Entrepreneurship
  • Sports
  • Exercise And Fitness
  • STEM
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Anime
  • Basketball
  • YouTube
  • Weightlifting
  • Volunteering
  • Tutoring
  • Anatomy
  • Biotechnology
  • Cinematography
  • Coding And Computer Science
  • Cooking
  • Education
  • Exploring Nature And Being Outside
  • Fitness
  • Gaming
  • Machine Learning
  • Mathematics
  • Math
  • Robotics

Reading

  • Christianity
  • Academic
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Education
  • Science‎
  • Social Science

I read books multiple times a week.

Bio

Hi! My name is Caly Ferguson, and I am currently a sophomore mechanical engineering major in college attending the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Math and science are my favorite subjects, and I have a high interest in technology. As a result of these interests, I plan to pursue a career in biomedical engineering. I want to help people, such as amputees, people with rare afflictions, and anybody in need of medical technologies, by contributing to the innovation of technology to aid people. My interest in biomedical engineering also stems from a personal experience that ignited my sense of determination and perseverance. As a person affected by a birth defect that severed off large portions of four of my fingers, I can relate to the struggle of self-confidence while having a unique physical feature. My primary goals in life are to be the best version of myself and to be an example of how one can persevere to overcome any trial that one encounters. I want to inspire people of various backgrounds and situations to be determined to conquer adversity to achieve any goal they set for themselves!

Education

University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Bachelor's degree program

2022 – 2026

Majors:
  • Mechanical Engineering

St James School

High School

2019 – 2022

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
Graduate schools of interest:
Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, Duke University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Majors of interest:
Biomedical/Medical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering
Medical school interest:
No

Career

  • Teaching Assistant

    Education · University of Maryland, Baltimore County

    Jan 2024 – Jan 2024

  • Tutor

    Education · Tutor.com

    Jan 2023 – Jan 2024

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Biomedical Engineering
Dream career goals:
Company Founder
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
  • Entrepreneurship
Stephan L. Daniels Lift As We Climb Scholarship
My goal is to get a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering so that I can be exceptionally qualified to apply the skills that I would pick up while earning a Ph.D. to create advanced technology in the medical field. My primary research interest is making prosthetic devices to help those in need have a better range of motion and an improved ability to function as if the prosthetic were the biological counterpart it is replacing. Current commercially available prosthetics only act as placeholders for the missing body part, rather than giving the person the same range of motion and sensory benefits that they should. I want to play a significant role in improving this technology to benefit the community at large I want to accomplish this by making the prosthetic interface compatible with electrical signals from the brain. Aside from prosthetics, I also want to branch out to other medical areas to work on advancing things like surgical tools, imaging devices, rehabilitation devices, and more. The main motivation for me pursuing a career in Biomedical Engineering research is a result of my journey of being an individual with an amputation. I was born with amniotic band syndrome, in which fibrous bands wrapped around and severed off significant portions of four of my fingers. Though my amputations do not heavily impact my physical life, since my missing fingers do not prohibit me from doing regular things in life, I can relate to the mental and emotional battles of coming to terms with this unique aspect of mine. This sparked thoughts of how others with more severe amputations and physical disabilities live their day-to-day lives. When I was thinking about what I want to do as a career, I thought that I would want to play a part in making devices that can assist these people in better ways than the current generation of products can. Combining this with my love and passion for math and engineering, as those were my favorite classes throughout school, I aim to focus on the actual creation and manufacturing of these kinds of products, so I can help people who need them for a reasonable cost. Along with improving the physical conditions of the individuals affected by a physical disability, I believe that technology that functions as the biological counterpart could, in any regard, boost a person’s self-confidence, giving them a sense of normality that they did not have before.
Richard P. Mullen Memorial Scholarship
In fifth grade, I attended a new school for the first time. Even though it was small, the thought of meeting new people made me incredibly anxious. For the first few weeks, in everything I did, from raising my hand to fist bumping my peers, I concealed my hands in my pockets or up my sleeves. It’s ironic reminiscing about those times because I was inadvertently making myself look weird, even though I was hiding my hands to not look weird. I was born with an abnormality called amniotic band syndrome, which occurs in the womb when fibrous bands wrap around parts of the developing body. For me, the bands wrapped around two fingers on each hand, causing me to lose significant portions of four fingers. As a child, I was self-conscious about this, which caused me to be extremely shy. In unfamiliar environments, such as my first day at a new school, I kept my hands hidden. Even though I always knew I was as capable as a person with ten fingers, I felt ashamed, and it took me years to be myself around people. I felt as though people would not want to associate with me because of my hands; I was afraid to embrace my differences. My family preached to me that being different wasn’t a bad thing; it was something I should embrace. “Your hands were gifts from God,” they said. One day in that fifth-grade year, a friend noticed that my hands were different as I typed my first HTML web page in computer class. At first, he was confused because he didn’t know what he was looking at. After a few seconds, he recognized what was different about my hands. A few minutes passed and my hands became the spectacle of the classroom. My classmates were shocked, but then said they thought it was awesome that I was able to do anything they could. They accepted me as I was; that was the first time I experienced a feeling of acceptance outside of my family. Knowing people could be as kind as my classmates regarding my hands, I felt a newfound sense of confidence. After that day, I embraced my hands. No more hiding my hands in my sleeves, avoiding raising my hand, or resorting to fist bumps. My peers were in awe of my ability to do things as insignificant as using an Xbox controller or holding a pencil to create art. Even more significantly, how I was named an all-star on my middle school basketball team and was a key contributor to our championship season. These accomplishments were the result of my accepting my hands as different in a good way. This scholarship would be an amazing help to me at this time of my life. Currently, my family is getting ready to send another kid, my sister, away from college, and they will now have to deal with the financial burden of two kids in college at the same time. This scholarship would make it so that the focus can be less on my tuition and more on hers since she is just starting out. I thank the donor in advance for reviewing my application!
Humanize LLC Gives In Honor of Shirley Kelley Scholarship
In fifth grade, I attended a new school for the first time. Even though it was small, the thought of meeting new people made me incredibly anxious. For the first few weeks, in everything I did, from raising my hand to fist bumping my peers, I concealed my hands in my pockets or up my sleeves. It’s ironic reminiscing about those times because I was inadvertently making myself look weird, even though I was hiding my hands to not look weird. I was born with an abnormality called amniotic band syndrome, which occurs in the womb when fibrous bands wrap around parts of the developing body. For me, the bands wrapped around two fingers on each hand, causing me to lose significant portions of four fingers. As a child, I was self-conscious about this, which caused me to be extremely shy. In unfamiliar environments, such as my first day at a new school, I kept my hands hidden. Even though I always knew I was as capable as a person with ten fingers, I felt ashamed, and it took me years to be myself around people. I felt as though people would not want to associate with me because of my hands; I was afraid to embrace my differences. My family preached to me that being different wasn’t a bad thing; it was something I should embrace. “Your hands were gifts from God,” they said. One day in that fifth-grade year, a friend noticed that my hands were different as I typed my first HTML web page in computer class. At first, he was confused because he didn’t know what he was looking at. After a few seconds, he recognized what was different about my hands. A few minutes passed and my hands became the spectacle of the classroom. My classmates were shocked, but then said they thought it was awesome that I was able to do anything they could. They accepted me as I was; that was the first time I experienced a feeling of acceptance outside of my family. Knowing people could be as kind as my classmates regarding my hands, I felt a newfound sense of confidence. After that day, I embraced my hands. No more hiding my hands in my sleeves, avoiding raising my hand, or resorting to fist bumps. My peers were in awe of my ability to do things as insignificant as using an Xbox controller or holding a pencil to create art. Even more significantly, how I was named an all-star on my middle school basketball team and was a key contributor to our championship season. These accomplishments were the result of my accepting my hands as different in a good way. I believe that the main catalyst for my being more comfortable with myself is the love and support of my family. My journey to becoming more self-confident was a difficult one, but with my parents being the amazing role models that they were and still are, I was able to overcome this plight in my life. My parent's teachings still affect my day-to-day life. Due to my newfound sense of confidence in my hands, I think their support helped drive me to a point where now I want to build advanced prosthetics to help better the lives of people in the world who suffer from amputations. Every day in college I work towards that goal by persevering through every class, test, and extracurricular to one day make my dreams a reality.
Servant Ships Scholarship
My interest in STEM started when I was younger, stemming mainly from pop culture. One of my favorite things that I loved doing when I was a kid was watching superhero movies. Watching superhero movies as a kid was an early indication of my wanting to go into a career involving the applications of science and technology. My favorite movies to watch were the Dark Knight Trilogy and Iron Man. The plot of these movies emphasizes the influence that a regular person can have just by applying science and technology to help others. Batman engineered an underground cave to serve as his intelligence base for fighting crime. Along with this, the movie highlighted the technology used by Batman when fighting different bad guys, for example when he had his suit modified to be more agile when fighting a lot of people at once. The most relevant superhero to what I want to do as a career after college is Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark. Stark was a natural scientist and engineer, doing things like building a device to stop a tumor from reaching his heart or discovering a new element as an energy source for his suit. I was born with a birth defect called amniotic band syndrome, which is where fibrous bands in the womb wrap around and can cut off the circulation to body parts. Due to this, I lost significant portions of four of my fingers. Though I cannot fully relate to the physical challenges that losing body parts can have on those who have lost an arm or a leg, I can relate to the mental woes that one can have when living with something like this. My journey to becoming more self-confident was a difficult one, but it was in overcoming my insecurity that I realized that a defining characteristic of my life is my determination to work hard. Like Stark using his personal heart affliction to influence his drive to make super suits, I use my personal experience to guide my contribution to helping those with whatever medical problem they might have. These things are what influenced me to want to pursue a career in STEM. Currently, I am pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, with the goal of earning an MD-Ph.D. or a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, so that I can be exceptionally qualified to apply my skills to create and do research in advanced prosthetic devices to better help those in need to have a better range of motion and an improved ability to function as if the prosthetic was the biological appendage, limb, etc. I believe that current commercial prosthetics just fulfill the missing body part as a placeholder, rather than giving the person the same range of motion and sensory benefits that it should. I want to create prosthetics that can move as efficiently as their biological counterparts can. I want to accomplish this by making the prosthetic interface compatible with electrical signals from the brain. Once I achieve this, I want to advance a wider range of medical devices like surgical tools, imaging devices, and other things like that so that I can have a large impact on the world in the medical field.
Iftikhar Kamil Madni Science and Engineering Memorial Scholarship
My interest in STEM started when I was younger, stemming from pop culture and personal experiences. The two things I loved doing as a kid were building Legos and watching superhero movies. My favorite part about building Legos was the ability to use my imagination to build unique and creative sets. This was the earliest instance where I knew I wanted to pursue a career doing something innovative and creative, as building Legos was to me at the time. Watching superhero movies as a kid was an early indication of my wanting to go into a career involving the applications of science and technology. My favorite movies to watch were the Dark Knight Trilogy and Iron Man. The plot of these movies emphasizes the influence that a regular person can have just by applying science and technology to help others. Batman engineered an underground cave to serve as his intelligence base for fighting crime. Along with this, the movie highlighted the technology used by Batman when fighting different bad guys, for example when he had his suit modified to be more agile when fighting a lot of people at once. The most relevant superhero to what I want to do as a career after college is Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark. Stark was a natural scientist and engineer, doing things like building a device to stop a tumor from reaching his heart or discovering a new element as an energy source for his suit. I was born with a birth defect called amniotic band syndrome, which is where fibrous bands in the womb wrap around and can cut off the circulation to body parts. Due to this, I lost significant portions of four of my fingers. Though I cannot fully relate to the physical challenges that losing body parts can have on those who have lost an arm or a leg, I can relate to the mental woes that one can have when living with something like this. My journey to becoming more self-confident was a difficult one, but it was in overcoming my insecurity that I realized that a defining characteristic of my life is my determination to work hard. Like Stark using his heart affliction to influence his drive to make super suits, I use my personal experience to guide my contribution to helping those with whatever medical problem they might have. These things are what influenced me to want to pursue a career in STEM. Currently, I am pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, to earn an MD-Ph.D. or a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. I want to earn at least Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering to be exceptionally qualified to apply those skills to create and do research in advanced prosthetic devices to better help those in need to have a better range of motion and an improved ability to function as if the prosthetic was the biological appendage, limb, etc. I believe that current commercial prosthetics just fulfill the missing body part as a placeholder, rather than giving the person the same range of motion and sensory benefits that it should. I want to create prosthetics that can move as efficiently as their biological counterparts can. I want to accomplish this by making the prosthetic interface compatible with electrical signals from the brain. Once I achieve this, I want to advance a wider range of medical devices like surgical tools, imaging devices, and other things like that.
Cliff T. Wofford STEM Scholarship
Winner
My interest in STEM started when I was younger, stemming from pop culture and personal experiences. The two things I loved doing when I was a kid were building legos and watching superhero movies. My favorite part about building legos was the ability to use my imagination to build unique and creative sets. This was the earliest instance where I knew I wanted to pursue a career doing something innovative and creative, as building legos was to me at the time. Watching superhero movies as a kid was an early indication of my wanting to go into a career involving the applications of science and technology. My favorite movies to watch were the Dark Knight Trilogy and Iron Man. The plot of these movies emphasizes the influence that a regular person can have just by applying science and technology to help others. Batman engineered an underground cave to serve as his base of intelligence for fighting crime. Along with this, the movie highlighted the technology used by Batman when fighting different bad guys, for example when he had his suit modified to be more agile when fighting a lot of people at once. The most relevant superhero to what I want to do as a career after college is Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark. Stark was a natural scientist and engineer, doing things like building a device to stop a tumor from reaching his heart, or discovering a new element as an energy source for his suit. I was born with a birth defect called amniotic band syndrome, which is where fibrous bands in the womb wrap around and can cut off the circulation to body parts. Due to this, I lost significant portions of four of my fingers. Though I cannot fully relate to the physical challenges that losing body parts can have on those who have lost an arm or a leg, I can relate to the mental woes that one can have when living with something like this. My journey to becoming more self-confident was a difficult one, but it was in overcoming my insecurity that I realized that a defining characteristic of my life is my determination to work hard. Like Stark using his personal heart affliction to influence his drive to make super suits, I use my personal experience to guide my contribution to helping those with whatever medical problem they might have. These things are what influenced me to want to pursue a career in STEM. Currently, I am pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, with the goal to earn an MD-Ph.D. or a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. I want to earn at least Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in order to be exceptionally qualified to apply those skills to create and do research in advanced prosthetic devices to better help those in need to have a better range of motion and an improved ability to function as if the prosthetic was the biological appendage, limb, etc. I believe that current commercial prosthetics just fulfill the missing body part as a placeholder, rather than giving the person the same range of motion and sensory benefits that it should. I want to create prosthetics that can move as efficiently as their biological counterparts can. I want to accomplish this by making the prosthetic interface compatible with electrical signals from the brain. Once I achieve this, I want to advance a wider range of medical devices like surgical tools, imaging devices, and other things like that.
NE1 NE-Dream Scholarship
My interest in STEM started when I was younger, stemming from pop culture and personal experiences. The two things I loved doing when I was a kid were building legos and watching superhero movies. My favorite part about building legos was the ability to use my imagination to build unique and creative sets. This was the earliest instance where I knew I wanted to pursue a career doing something innovative and creative, as building legos was to me at the time. Watching superhero movies as a kid was an early indication of my wanting to go into a career involving the applications of science and technology. My favorite movies to watch were the Dark Knight Trilogy and Iron Man. The plot of these movies emphasizes the influence that a regular person can have just by applying science and technology to help others. Batman engineered an underground cave to serve as his base of intelligence for fighting crime. Along with this, the movie highlighted the technology used by Batman when fighting different bad guys, for example when he had his suit modified to be more agile when fighting a lot of people at once. The most relevant superhero to what I want to do as a career after college is Iron Man, also known as Tony Stark. Stark was a natural scientist and engineer, doing things like building a device to stop a tumor from reaching his heart, or discovering a new element as an energy source for his suit. I was born with a birth defect called amniotic band syndrome, which is where fibrous bands in the womb wrap around and can cut off the circulation to body parts. Due to this, I lost significant portions of four of my fingers. Though I cannot fully relate to the physical challenges that losing body parts can have on those who have lost an arm or a leg, I can relate to the mental woes that one can have when living with something like this. My journey to becoming more self-confident was a difficult one, but it was in overcoming my insecurity that I realized that a defining characteristic of my life is my determination to work hard. Like Stark using his personal heart affliction to influence his drive to make super suits, I use my personal experience to guide my contribution to helping those with whatever medical problem they might have. These things are what influenced me to want to pursue a career in STEM. Currently, I am pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, with the goal to earn an MD-Ph.D. or a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. I want to earn at least Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in order to be exceptionally qualified to apply those skills to create and do research in advanced prosthetic devices to better help those in need to have a better range of motion and an improved ability to function as if the prosthetic was the biological appendage, limb, etc. I believe that current commercial prosthetics just fulfill the missing body part as a placeholder, rather than giving the person the same range of motion and sensory benefits that it should. I want to create prosthetics that can move as efficiently as their biological counterparts can. I want to accomplish this by making the prosthetic interface compatible with electrical signals from the brain. Once I achieve this, I want to advance a wider range of medical devices like surgical tools, imaging devices, and other things like that.
Eleven Scholarship
In fifth grade, I attended a new school for the first time. Even though it was small, the thought of meeting new people made me incredibly anxious. For the first few weeks, in everything I did, from raising my hand to fist bumping my peers, I concealed my hands in my pockets or up my sleeves. It’s ironic reminiscing about those times because I was inadvertently making myself look weird, even though I was hiding my hands in an effort to not look weird. I was born with an abnormality called amniotic band syndrome, which occurs in the womb when fibrous bands wrap around parts of the developing body. For me, the bands wrapped around two fingers on each hand, causing me to lose significant portions of four fingers. As a child, I was self-conscious about this, which caused me to be extremely shy. In unfamiliar environments, such as my first day at a new school, I kept my hands hidden. I felt people would not want to associate with me because of my hands; I was afraid to embrace my differences. My family preached to me that being different wasn’t a bad thing; it was something I should embrace. “Your hands were gifts from God,” they said. One day in that fifth-grade year, a friend noticed that my hands were different as I typed my first HTML web page in computer class. At first, he was confused because he didn’t know what he was looking at. After a few seconds, he recognized what was different about my hands. A few minutes passed and my hands became the spectacle of the classroom. My classmates were shocked, but then said they thought it was awesome that I was able to do anything they could. They accepted me as I was; that was the first time I experienced a feeling of acceptance outside of my family. Knowing people could be as kind as my classmates regarding my hands, I felt a newfound sense of confidence. No more hiding my hands in my sleeves, avoiding raising my hand, or resorting to fist bumps. My peers were in awe of my ability to do things as insignificant as using an Xbox controller or holding a pencil to create art. Even more significantly, how I was named an all-star on my middle school basketball team and was a key contributor to our championship season. What makes me unique? Is it that I can do everything others do and more with four missing fingers? That's not how I would put it. I am unique because I am willing to dive for every loose ball in basketball, sacrifice sleep to understand a difficult academic concept fully and work endlessly to find the good in every situation. My journey to becoming more self-confident was a difficult one. Still, it was in overcoming my insecurity that I realized that a defining characteristic of my life is my determination to work hard. Embracing differences is lacking today because everyone wants to wear the same clothes, sing the same songs, talk the same way, and think the same thoughts. Uniqueness must be celebrated more in modern society, and I hope to one day be a driving force in this movement by setting an example through my professional success that one’s differences should not hold one back in any way. My perseverance fuels my mentality to be the hardest worker in every room. My hands are a part of my image, but they do not define me, making me unique.
Sikora Drake STEM Scholarship
When I was younger, something that I loved doing was building Legos. Every time I went to the store, I begged my mom to buy me a new set. At first, I would arrange the Lego sets by following the instructions. After building them, I situated them on my dresser in ways that represented different scenes. I saw this as the only way Lego sets should be built. As I got older, I became bored with following the instructions and decided to build the sets without following the instructions. After I finished, I liked what I had created, so I continued to build these unique sets. I got so creative that I used my mother’s nail polish remover to wipe off the standard designs on the Lego characters and drew different designs on them to represent my favorite superheroes. This is when I found that I wanted to major in a field that allowed me to innovate. Biomedical engineering incorporates innovation and artistic creativity into the STEM field, which allows me to express these characteristics of mine into my favorite things about academics, which are science and technology. I now plan to pursue a career in which I use my experience in the biomedical field to engineer advanced prosthetics. To achieve this goal, I want to be as familiar with the medical field and have a lot of experience doing undergraduate research before I go to graduate school. For example, at UMBC, since there is a big emphasis on undergraduate research in the engineering department, I would engage in different projects and research that would help prepare me for the professional biomedical field. In graduate school, I aim to get a PhD in Biomedical Engineering in order to have the most knowledge and experience I can have before I enter the professional field. Personally, I believe that diversity in any workplace is extremely important. The more diverse a workspace is, the more that problems will be solved due to this diversity. With a group of people from multiple different backgrounds and experiences, there is a greater chance for this group to come up with an innovative solutions to a problem as opposed to a group of people all from the same background and experiences. The collaboration that will ensue in diverse workspaces will lead to a more efficient work environment that produces at maximum potential. Individuals are elavted in a diverse atmosphere because it challenges them to consider different point of views that they couldn't have though of themselves and expand their mental rolodex of solutions to everyday issues. I believe that all professional spaces should work towards diversifying their workspaces to offer oppurtunities to all people, no matter their race, sexuality, gender, or anything like that.
Learner Statistics Scholarship
When I was younger, something that I loved doing was building Legos. Every time I went to the store, I begged my mom to buy me a new set. At first, I would arrange the Lego sets by following the instructions. After building them, I situated them on my dresser in ways that represented different scenes. I saw this as the only way Lego sets should be built. As I got older, I became bored with following the instructions and decided to build the sets without following the instructions. After I finished, I liked what I had created, so I continued to build these unique sets. I got so creative that I used my mother’s nail polish remover to wipe off the standard designs on the Lego characters and drew different designs on them to represent my favorite superheroes. This is when I found that I wanted to major in a field that allowed me to innovate. Biomedical engineering incorporates innovation and artistic creativity into the STEM field, which allows me to express these characteristics of mine into my favorite things about academics, which are science and technology. I now plan to pursue a career in which I use my experience in the biomedical field to create advanced prosthetics. To achieve this goal, I want to be as familiar with the medical field and have a lot of experience doing undergraduate research before I go to graduate school. For example, at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where I will be attending school for my undergraduate career, I will engage in different projects and research that would help prepare me for the professional biomedical field. In graduate school, I aim to get a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering to have the most knowledge and experience I can have before I enter the professional field.
Sloane Stephens Doc & Glo Scholarship
August 19, 2019, the beginning of my sophomore year, marked a turning point in my educational career. In the years leading up to this date, I was used to one thing when it came to school, which was that I was one of the smartest kids in my class. I was proud of myself to have great grades, but I never felt as though it was a challenge for me during those years. As I progressed into my first year of high school, school got a bit harder, but I was still able to keep a straight-A resume with relative ease. Towards the end of my freshman year, my family and I discussed whether or not I should go to a more rigorous high school so that I could be more challenged academically. When surveying the local options, my parents remembered that one of my classmates from middle school had gone to a boarding school thirty minutes away from my house. I decided to reconnect with my old classmate to see what she liked and didn’t like about the school, and the main thing I took away from the conversations was her explanation of how challenged she felt by the classes and school schedule. My family and I agreed that I would greatly benefit from attending this college preparatory school. After going through the admission process, I was blessed enough to be admitted to the school, and I decided to board my first year. August 19 was move-in day. It went smoothly; I met a lot of people in my grade and got acquainted with the social environment. This was the beginning of an experience that was foreign to me. After the first week, I was amazed by how many brilliant minds were in each of my classes. Students rapidly answered questions with resilience and eloquence when discussing topics of each lesson. This was the first time I wasn’t one of a few smart kids in my class; in this environment, the majority of the class were intellectuals. This resonated with me when I received my first grade in my British literature class: 80%. This made me realize that I had to increase my work ethic to continue to achieve academic success. I started valuing my relationships with my teachers so that I received continuous feedback on topics that were hard to understand, and on how I was doing in the class. This experience procured my sense of perseverance in all of my challenges in life. I ended up maintaining my straight A status up until this day. Even though I am not the smartest one in my classes, I am one of the hardest workers in each class, and I feel like enrolling in a more rigorous school was one of the best decisions my parents and I made because this caused one of the biggest character developments in my life, which is now one of the defining characteristics of my personality. The most important thing that my ability to preserve has procured in my life is my eagerness to try new things. For example, even though I want to major in biomedical engineering, throughout high school I’ve enjoyed making art, mixing hip-hop beats, and playing lacrosse, which are all things I used to think were not for me. This makes me adaptable to any environment because I am not afraid to try new things and experiment with things I overlooked in the past. This characteristic make me different from most, and I want to express that in every environment I’m in.
Black Students in STEM Scholarship
In fifth grade, I attended a new school for the first time. Even though it was small, the thought of meeting new people made me incredibly anxious. For the first few weeks, in everything I did, from raising my hand to fist bumping my peers, I concealed my hands in my pockets or up my sleeves. It’s ironic reminiscing about those times because I was inadvertently making myself look weird, even though I was hiding my hands in an effort to not look weird. I was born with an abnormality called amniotic band syndrome, which occurs in the womb when fibrous bands wrap around parts of the developing body. For me, the bands wrapped around two fingers on each hand, causing me to lose significant portions of four fingers. As a child, I was self-conscious about this, which caused me to be extremely shy. In unfamiliar environments, such as my first day at a new school, I kept my hands hidden. Even though I always knew I was as capable as a person with ten fingers, I felt ashamed, and it took me years to be myself around people. I felt as though people would not want to associate with me because of my hands; I was afraid to embrace my differences. My family preached to me that being different wasn’t a bad thing; it was something I should embrace. “Your hands were gifts from God,” they said. One day in that fifth grade year, a friend noticed that my hands were different as I typed my first HTML web page in computer class. At first, he was confused because he didn’t know what he was looking at. After a few seconds, he recognized what was different about my hands. A few minutes passed and my hands became the spectacle of the classroom. My classmates were shocked, but then said they thought it was awesome that I was able to do anything they could. They accepted me as I was; that was the first time I experienced a feeling of acceptance outside of my family. Knowing people could be as kind as my classmates regarding my hands, I felt a newfound sense of confidence. After that day, I embraced my hands. No more hiding my hands in my sleeves, avoiding raising my hand, or resorting to fist bumps. My peers were in awe of my ability to do things as insignificant as using an Xbox controller, or holding a pencil to create art. Even more significantly, how I was named an all-star on my middle school basketball team and was a key contributor to our championship season. These accomplishments were the result of me accepting my hands as different in a good way. The reason I am passionate about STEM is because I have the opportunity to work in fields where I can express my differences and help others who might feel the same sense of shame of their unique features. Biomedical engineering incorporates innovation and artistic creativity into the STEM field, which allows me to express these characteristics of mine into my favorite things about academics, which are science and technology, in order to help others who have physical disabilities. Since this is my intended major in college, I will strive to be the best in this major, so that I can help as many people as I can after college.
Theresa Lord Future Leader Scholarship
August 19, 2019, the beginning of my sophomore year, marked a turning point in my educational career. In the years leading up to this date, I was used to one thing when it came to school, which was that I was one of the smartest kids in my class. I was proud of myself to have great grades, but I never felt as though it was a challenge for me during those years. As I progressed into my first year of high school, school got a bit harder, but I was still able to keep a straight-A resume with relative ease. Towards the end of my freshman year, my family and I discussed whether or not I should go to a more rigorous high school so that I could be more challenged academically. When surveying the local options, my parents remembered that one of my classmates from middle school had gone to a boarding school thirty minutes away from my house. I decided to reconnect with my old classmate to see what she liked and didn’t like about the school, and the main thing I took away from the conversations was her explanation of how challenged she felt by the classes and school schedule. My family and I agreed that I would greatly benefit from attending this college preparatory school. After going through the admission process, I was blessed enough to be admitted to the school, and I decided to board my first year. August 19 was move-in day. It went smoothly; I met a lot of people in my grade and got acquainted with the social environment. This was the beginning of an experience that was foreign to me. After the first week, I was amazed by how many brilliant minds were in each of my classes. Students rapidly answered questions with resilience and eloquence when discussing topics of each lesson. This was the first time I wasn’t one of a few smart kids in my class; in this environment, the majority of the class were intellectuals. This resonated with me when I received my first grade in my British literature class: 80%. This made me realize that I had to increase my work ethic to continue to achieve academic success. I started valuing my relationships with my teachers so that I received continuous feedback on topics that were hard to understand, and on how I was doing in the class. This experience procured my sense of perseverance in all of my challenges in life. I ended up maintaining my straight A status up until this day. Even though I am not the smartest one in my classes, I am one of the hardest workers in each class, and I feel like enrolling in a more rigorous school was one of the best decisions my parents and I made because this caused one of the biggest character developments in my life, which is now one of the defining characteristics of my personality. This experience has given me the drive to want to become elite in my dream profession, which is biomedical engineering, and I will do this by using my college experience to help me become a better person overall, in terms of knowledge, compassion, societal awareness, and mental fortitude.
Caly Ferguson Student Profile | Bold.org